Saturday, October 16, 2010

Intensely Tim

Starting pitcher:
JC Parsons

"It was intense"

That was Tim Lincecum's post game description of Brian Wilson's four out save (all by strikeout!) but I think it pretty well covers the entire experience; a 4-3 victory over the Phillies in Game #1 of the 2010 NLCS. Obviously without his best stuff, Timmeh out "aced" Roy Halladay in what distinctly fell short of a classic pitcher's duel. The numbers (game score 58)pale in comparison to last week's but the victory is just as sweet and even bigger. Fuckin' huge. Pardon my French.

7 innings 6 hits 3 runs 3 walks 8 strikeouts

Not to say there wasn't some hardcore Freak action on display. Ryan Howard, coming in with great numbers against Tim, was humbled several times. Shane Victorino, a royal pain in the Giants collective ass, was forced into a couple swings that would have made his T-ball coach cringe. Somehow Lincecum overcame a pesky umpire and the complete lack of a curveball to get the key out. His performance oozed intensity every at bat...probably because he started most batters with 2 balls and no strikes. It was scary at times, thrilling at others, and a boatload of fun the WHOLE TIME! (That's the thing about intensity...it's easy to forget to have fun. I don't think Tim has any problem in that regard.)

Somebody else who was obviously having fun was Cody Ross. What a great way to get an entire fan base to adore you. I'm pretty sure that I'm changing my dog's name to Cody. Not sure how the wife is going to like that. Oh well, it's all OK because

17 comments:

What a game! They just can't seem to push over those insurance runs that would help everyone's nerves. It's amazing that they are doing this without Torres & Sanchez. Those guys need to start contributing, or they'll have to elevate Ross & Fontenot to 1-2 in the order.

Tim went through long stretches with no command, but got it done. He really gutted it out.

I still would have liked to see Casilla get the last out in the 8th. Aside from the fact that Casilla is studly, Wilson ended up throwing a lot of pitches. I hope that he has something left for tomorrow.

I'm looking for a Torres-Sanchez-Huff led rally, hopefully in the 1st inning. Jonathan Sanchez, you are again THE MAN!

I was going crazy in the 9th--the failure to score had me completely whacked. Silly of me to expect the Giants to score, isn't it? I just need to embrace the torture. Wilson walks a tightrope, that's for sure.

Tim was awesome in the 7th after Werth's homer made it close in the 6th. Those three outs were huge. The post-game interview in the hoodie was hilarious. Half of Pennsylvania is wondering what the hell just happened. How does a spacey little skater dude shut down the big, bad Phillies and beat manly Roy Halladay? Classic.

I had no problem using Wilson in the 8th. He's your best guy. He's had a week off. If they use him tomorrow (highly likely) he's got a day off Monday. He can handle it.

How many times are the giants going to load the bases with less than two outs in the playoffs, and, not score? Cody Ross continues to make up for that miss played fly ball in a tough loss about a month ago. He got his reprieve as that loss did not cost the giants the playoffs. Now he is doing his best for breaking up no hit shutouts with one swing of the bat.

In his three and a half ML seasons, Lincecum has has one bad month.We are not worthy.Cody Ross is now an immortal, right there with Dusty Rhodes, Kirk Gibson and Reggie Jackson.Jonathan Sanchez has given Giants fans every reason to expect greatness on Sunday.Giants in Four!

Sadly, my cable provider could not make a deal with FOX so they stopped airing FOX for the time being. However, I was still able to experience the game thanks to the radio! I mean, it was 1050 AM ESPN, but, it's better than Joe Buck. I hate that guy.

I had a feeling that each pitcher wasn't going to be anywhere near as good as they were in their previous starts, however, I like how we never lost the lead and I really like how we beat the Halladay and the Phillies and against many of the expert predictions. SUCK IT! GO GIANTS!

Sergio Romo is a great reliever. I don't like how Bochy demoted him from the setup role (again). I mean, the 2 hits he gave up in Game 2 were only singles and it's not like he had any control of that (one of the hits was off their stud catcher and best hitter Brian McCann). RamRam was the one that gave up the dinger to the former pitcher and that was the blow that beat us. The next game, although he gave up the HR to Hinske (that just made it out), he finished the inning without giving up anything else and we ended up winning the game. Just had to let that out; Romosexual for life!

Romo will get another chance, probably today. Last night it made sense to use Lopez against lefty batters and that worked to perfection. And it's very common now for us to use Wilson to get more than 3 outs. Admit it, Romo was a failure, failure, failure in the NLDS. Yeah, he eventually got a couple outs. But the first 3 batters he faced got hits, and he was the #1 reason we lost a game. I still dig him. I think he'll be lights out in his next appearance.

I really think the media coverage featuring the "disappointing" pitching is off base as usual. Halladay and Lincecum were both hamstrung by an ump that really squeezed the plate. Doc argued a few times, which is unheard of for him. Tim was seen griping; nothing new there. Bochy had words with the guy. Each pitcher was forced into the center of the plate and that directly led to more xbh than you would expect. Tim's only lapse was a dumb fastball to Werth (that was the ONLY pitch he had a chance of hitting) and that should have been a solo shot but Uribe had just double clutched Utely into an infield hit. And how could anyone be disappointed in Lopez or Wilson? Brian did not give an inch to the asshole ump (Cousins, I believe, and I do have to credit him with consistency) and just kept pounding the outside edge. Amazing control considering the shit he throws. Then, in spectacular fashion, the last pitch he threw was a fastball inside that was untouchable.Disappointing my ass.

Yeah, I agree, both guys pitched great and a friendlier ump would have called more strikes. Neither guy was as sharp as we've seen them be in the past, but both were dealing. Halladay hurt himself with sinkers that didn't sink to Ross, and then got flustered in the 6th and gave up two hits and two runs. Note how Ol'Boch came out to calm Tim in a similar situation but Manuel left Halladay alone. Score one for Boch.

Wilson absolutely smoked Victorino after he got to 3-1, just two perfectly located pitches, unhittable strikes, 96 mph with a little wiggle at the end. Wow. And you have to be impressed with Lopez, again.

@Brother Bob: Romo did not fail, gawd! I was referring to what Bochy said when asked if Romo would remain the 8th inning guy and he said that Casilla would take over that role instead. I trust Romo a lot more than I trust Santiago (still like him though).

Actually I think Bochy went out in that case to yell at the ump on the walk back. Of course, the break in the action is important, but, no, I don't give Bochy any credit for "calming down" Tim.

Don't know if Romo gets a big leverage situation this series. That is not so much a rip on him as it is because Castilla has forced himself into the mix. And, of course, Rameriz has the grizzled vet thing that gives Bochy a boner.

And, for more good news, I spoke to Akemi late last night. Zo is progressing slowly, but surely. And, they all watched the game in his Hospital room, but the Nurses barged in during the crucial final at-bat to take his vitals (they try that shit today, & he'll probably have enough energy & VSC to tell them to wait a few minutes.

So I'll give Ol' Boch credit for a "break in the action." As we know, that's often a good tactic. Halladay could have use one as well, no?

The margins in Game 1 were infinitesimally small. The Giants came out on top of most the of the big plays (like Burrell's double, a cosmic-karmic kind of thing since Ibanez replaced Pat the Bat supposedly due to his superior glove!). Let's hope it continues in Game 2 and Sanchez pitches well. The Giants can hit Oswalt, but then again, I don't count on offensive outbursts, though one or two would be nice.